P4C800 Deluxe questions

[Rick]

Please put your answer underneath each question. Please do not reply with
answers like: "Why would you want to this or that?..."

Regarding to "Enhanced mode support" setting in BIOS and some Promise
controller quitz.

1. What does "Enhanced mode support" realy mean? Only disableing or enabling
the SATA or PATA ports on ICH5?
2. What about the ones on the Promise PDC20378? Are they affected by
"Enhanced mode support" settings as well?
3. Where is the Promise controller connected? To the southbridge or to the
northbridge? Where can I find a schema of the motherboard? (there is none in
the manual or Asus's site.)
4. I have the following config:

Primary Master DVD-ROM
Primary Slave Empty
Secondary Master WDC600JB HDD Western Digital with Linux RedHat (Lilo
22.5.8)
Secondary Slave CD-RW
Promise SATA ports: RAID 0 with Windows XP Pro SP1
Promise Third Primary and Secondary Empty

If I was to install some devices on the ICH5 SATA ports, then would Linux
see them?
6. Can I create another RAID 0 on the PATA_RAID ports on the Promise
controller apart the one I have on the RAID_SATA ports? Would it be
effective? I've read that creating RAID arrays on ATA controllers is not
effective as data sent to the HDDs cannot be sent simultaneously, but each
HDD at a a time. (And it would be effective to use SCSI).
7. Why does Asus recomend to use non-UDMA devices on the Secondary ports?
Case: When I bought the Western Digital WD600JB I first installed it on the
Primary connector together with the CD-RW. On the Secondary connector I had
the DVD-ROM. In this configuration the HDD and DVD-ROM performed very poor.
Why would that be?
8. I've installed Windows 98 SE on the Promise SATA RAID 0 and had all sorts
of problems with it. Hangs etc etc. I tweaked all the memory settings etc
(as I have 2 Gb of memory), but still have problems with it. Does anyone see
the reason? (The config in BIOS was Enhanced Mode support ON. Asus says that
Enhanced support should be set to Compatible Mode, but only when HDD are
connected through ICH5. They do not mention anything when installed on HDDss
connected to the Promise controller). Could Hypher Threading be the reason?

Unfortunately Asus support is equivalent to NIL and the CD or book they sned
together with the motherboard are not quite comprehensive... If they where I
wouldn't write here.

Thank You.

 

[Dan]

Why would I want to do that?

 

[Dan]

All answers are in your manual, I suggest you take the time to read it as
apposed to having somebody else who has give you all the answers. Besides
you might even learn something.

 

[Icer]

Cool! You took the time to write the guy two seperate sarcastic
answers.. nice job.

G Patricks

 

[Anthrax442]

1. What does "Enhanced mode support" realy mean? Only disableing or enabling
the SATA or PATA ports on ICH5?

Don't really know, I'd leave it at default and don't mess with it.

2. What about the ones on the Promise PDC20378? Are they affected by
"Enhanced mode support" settings as well?

From my experience with Asus boards, the external controllers, whether they
be SCSI or ATA, have VERY defined options in the BIOS, so unless the option
is a specific section that has settings for that controller, it won't have
any effect on it.

3. Where is the Promise controller connected? To the southbridge or to the
northbridge? Where can I find a schema of the motherboard? (there is none in
the manual or Asus's site.)

It's treated as an integrated PCI device, so you'll need to figure out which
the PCI devices are routed through. As a general rule, that sort of stuff
is done by the southbridge, as the northbridge is generally more concerned
with the processor and memory.

4. I have the following config:

Primary Master DVD-ROM
Primary Slave Empty
Secondary Master WDC600JB HDD Western Digital with Linux RedHat (Lilo
22.5.8)
Secondary Slave CD-RW
Promise SATA ports: RAID 0 with Windows XP Pro SP1
Promise Third Primary and Secondary Empty

If I was to install some devices on the ICH5 SATA ports, then would Linux
see them?

Hmmm...good one. I think your Linux kernel would need to be updated with
drivers for the chipset before that would be possible, and the drivers would
have to support the SATA function of the chipset, so really it depends on
the software that's out there. The RAID function of the ICH5 is definitely
NOT supported, as Intel only supports that under WinXP.

6. Can I create another RAID 0 on the PATA_RAID ports on the Promise
controller apart the one I have on the RAID_SATA ports? Would it be
effective? I've read that creating RAID arrays on ATA controllers is not
effective as data sent to the HDDs cannot be sent simultaneously, but each
HDD at a a time. (And it would be effective to use SCSI).

You can, but any time you have ATA RAID, you want to use hard drives on
different controllers. With having both hard drives hooked up as a master
and slave on the controller, your performance would be hurt, but the actual
Raid function would still work. I haven't done any benchmark testing, but I
imagine that it would be a little faster than having the harddrives hooked
up seperately, but might not be worth the chance of data loss.

7. Why does Asus recomend to use non-UDMA devices on the Secondary ports?
Case: When I bought the Western Digital WD600JB I first installed it on the
Primary connector together with the CD-RW. On the Secondary connector I had
the DVD-ROM. In this configuration the HDD and DVD-ROM performed very poor.
Why would that be?

I have never heard that. Maybe it has something to do with the way the 875
chipset is designed. I know I have never run into that on any other Asus
board, so I don't think it has anything to do with Asus. The way I would
hook things up is as follows:
Primary Master: WD Hard Drive (set to "single")
Primary Slave: None
Secondary Master: CDRW (set to "master")
Secondary Slave: DVD (set to "slave", never ever use cable select!)

8. I've installed Windows 98 SE on the Promise SATA RAID 0 and had all sorts
of problems with it. Hangs etc etc. I tweaked all the memory settings etc
(as I have 2 Gb of memory), but still have problems with it. Does anyone see
the reason? (The config in BIOS was Enhanced Mode support ON. Asus says that
Enhanced support should be set to Compatible Mode, but only when HDD are
connected through ICH5. They do not mention anything when installed on HDDss
connected to the Promise controller). Could Hypher Threading be the

reason?
Doubt it, hyperthreading just enables a second virtual processor, and Win98
would completely ignore that. More than likely, the problem is the fact
that you have 2 Gig of memory, and Win95/8/ME has to be setup specially to
work with that much memory, otherwise it will crash due to allocating too
many virtual memory addresses.

Unfortunately Asus support is equivalent to NIL and

I wouldn't know about that, I've never had to call them.

the CD or book they sned
together with the motherboard are not quite >comprehensive...

Not Quite Comprehensive!? What planet are you from? Asus has some of the
best manuals in the business. Name one motherboard manufacturer that has
better manuals. If it's not discussed in an Asus manual, I seriously doubt
it will be discussed in anyone elses.

 

[FairMan]

I think you should be happy if you got any answers at all.
In this group we ask for anwers. Not demanding people.

FairMan

 

[Rick]

Just that type of guys I'm trying to avoid in newsgroups or everywhere... I
didn't even bother to reply to him.


Rick

 

[Rick]

Thanks for all your answers.
Regarding the manual, I have to disagree with you. The manual is good as
long as you have strong knowledge of what is about. I'll give you one single
example in many in this motherboard's manual:

pg 4-11
(about primary/secondary IDE master/slave config in BIOS)

"32Bit Data Transfer [Disabled]
Enables or disables 32-bit data transfer"

What is this message telling you?
To me, nothing. No other explanation on why should I enable or disable
32-bit. What devices support or not 32-bit transfer.
Of course I do not pretend Asus's manual to be a tech course, but some side
explanation would've been welcome for the non or semi tech pax.

Rick

 

[Rick]

I'm not demanding. I was just trying to avoid people like Dan in the thread.
I thought you got the message. It seems I got the reverse effect...
Some people always feel offended...
Rick

Book recommandation:

Painful People and How to Deal With Them
by Joseph Dunn

 

[Rick]

A book to read:

Painful People and How to Deal With Them
by Joseph Dunn

 

[Don]

Hi Rick,

Below HTH
--
The Don

IEEE Electronic Design Engineer
Interfacing Computers to Robotics
_______________________________________
==========================================

Please put your answer underneath each question. Please do not reply with
answers like: "Why would you want to this or that?..."

Regarding to "Enhanced mode support" setting in BIOS and some Promise
controller quits.

1. What does "Enhanced mode support" really mean? Only disabling or enabling
the SATA or PATA ports on ICH5?

The easy answer is:
Page 50 in the Manual.
When using XP / W2K you can hook up 6 IDE devices on the ICH5 controller.
Where as, if you are using Win 98 / 98SE / ME you will only be able to use
4.

Page 79-80
If "Enhanced mode" is "ON" then you can chose [P-ATA+S-ATA] or [S-ATA] or
[P-ATA]

Also see page 143 for RAID configuration...

2. What about the ones on the Promise PDC20378? Are they affected by
"Enhanced mode support" settings as well?

The "Enhanced mode" Has nothing to do with the Promise controller

3. Where is the Promise controller connected? To the southbridge or to the
northbridge? Where can I find a schema of the motherboard? (there is none in
the manual or Asus's site.)

Don't know what manual you are looking at but you need to download the PDF
one from the site (About 4,577KB)

Then look at Page 20 to 24 for this info.

4. I have the following config:

Primary Master DVD-ROM
Primary Slave Empty
Secondary Master WDC600JB HDD Western Digital with Linux RedHat (Lilo
22.5.8)
Secondary Slave CD-RW
Promise SATA ports: RAID 0 with Windows XP Pro SP1
Promise Third Primary and Secondary Empty
If I was to install some devices on the ICH5 SATA ports, then would Linux
see them?

I Don't know if Linux supports S-ATA

6. Can I create another RAID 0 on the PATA_RAID ports on the Promise
controller apart the one I have on the RAID_SATA ports? Would it be
effective? I've read that creating RAID arrays on ATA controllers is not
effective as data sent to the HDDs cannot be sent simultaneously, but each
HDD at a a time. (And it would be effective to use SCSI).

7. Why does Asus recomend to use non-UDMA devices on the Secondary ports?
Case: When I bought the Western Digital WD600JB I first installed it on the
Primary connector together with the CD-RW. On the Secondary connector I had
the DVD-ROM. In this configuration the HDD and DVD-ROM performed very poor.
Why would that be?

When you put a HD and a "Slower interfaced" CD on the same controller..
(i.e.. IDE-0 ) It slows the transfer rate to the faster HD.... (Should be
CD-RW & DVD-Rom on one and HD on the other..

8. I've installed Windows 98 SE on the Promise SATA RAID 0 and had all sorts
of problems with it. Hangs etc etc. I tweaked all the memory settings etc
(as I have 2 Gb of memory), but still have problems with it. Does anyone see
the reason? (The config in BIOS was Enhanced Mode support ON. Asus says that
Enhanced support should be set to Compatible Mode, but only when HDD are
connected through ICH5. They do not mention anything when installed on HDDss
connected to the Promise controller). Could Hypher Threading be the

reason?

NO -- YES